Thoughts About the Dance
by Lilypad18
Summary: Sophia, the daughter of Annabeth, is having second thoughts about going to the middle school dance. That's until a family member pops in.
1. Chapter 1

Sophia sighed and let the curl fall from her useless fingertips. She studied the current look of sheer frustration that she had in the mirror: her light eyebrows were drawn together and her lips were in a line. She had been trying to do a nice but easy hairdo to do for the eighth grade dance she had to attend this evening. She _had_ been trying to complete this disaster ever since four. The clock that rested on her vanity just flipped to six. She blamed her tenacity on her mother.

However, there was one aspect Sophia didn't understand: why she was going. Parties were never her thing, her forte. Instead of gossip and loud music, she would rather experience the serenity of silence, the feeling of crisp paper as she turned the page of a book, and the crinkle of the blanket she would have draped over her. All of those things soothed her, she didn't know if a dance would have the same effect.

She marinated this inclusive, rebellious thought of staying home a little longer. What if she could bargain getting out of this whole ordeal with her parents? What if she pretended to be sick? What if she hid? _No, _she scolded herself; _two out of those three ideas are very juvenile. _In fact, she even laughed, because she knew that Chase would resort to a couple of those ideas himself.

_Chase, _the daughter mentally mused. She also knew that her brother didn't enjoy dances either. So why was he going? When did he suddenly become interested in these social events? She had a feeling that he would rather be home, too, enjoying the beeps and bloops of his video games, his dominating grasp over the controller. She concluded that he was going probably because of the peer pressure of his childish friends. However, if there was one thing she was uncertain of, it was why he hung out with those monkeys.

Sophia jumped when she heard soft footsteps enter her bedroom. When she looked over her shoulder, her muscles relaxed. It was only her mother. Sophia remembered that ever since the day she saw her English teacher nearly turn into a snake-like creature, she has always been on her guard. Sophia knew that her parents have mentioned that they have experienced the same kind of problem with her, but she always prayed to the gods that it would never happen to her. Although she was strong mentally and physically, she's scared that she wouldn't know what to do. Until this night, she still hasn't told both of her parents.

Annabeth walked over to her daughter's bed and rested the laundry basket on it. She extracted her daughter's clothing from the pile that resided in the white basket. She began to fold them and place the articles next to the basket. Once Sophia saw this, she sighed and crossed over to the bed. One of the articles of clothing was a blouse that is her favorite. Her mother hadn't folded it the way she liked it, so she refolded it. Annabeth captured the scene from the side of her vision, she couldn't help but smile.

"I swear, Soph, you're becoming more like me every day." The daughter looked up once she heard words that were spoken. Sophia smiled as well and shrugged.

"I sure hope that's good, mother." She took her clothes from the bed and walked towards the drawer. She diligently placed them all in the according drawers. Once Sophia stood up, she saw that her mother's smile widened.

"If only Chase contained the miraculous power to put away his clothing," Annabeth said with a sigh and a shake of her head. "We would have found that stinky stock earlier." Sophia scrunched her nose at the memory.

"That was possibly the smelliest moment of my life," Sophia added as she walked back to her mother. Annabeth's smile melted into a warm laugh.

"I would agree with you, but I have smelled worse when I was your age." Sophia sighed. _There she goes again, _Sophia commented to herself, _alluding to memories of her teenage years. _Annabeth sighed once she was done with her flashback; she then glanced at her watch. Her eyes widened slightly.

"Soph, you've gotta get dressed. The dance starts in less than an hour." Sophia paused. Should she tell her mother that she's reconsidering going?

"Mother," She hesitantly started. She was cautious because she didn't want the words to spill over her lips in a wordy waterfall. "I was thinking that I wouldn't go." Immediately, Annabeth's eyebrows drew together and she sat down on the bed.

"Why the sudden change of mind?"

"I don't know," Sophia sighed, struggling for words this time. "I just feel like I wouldn't have a fun time, because I'm not popular, boys don't like me, and I'd rather read a book." Her heart fluttered with relief after she mentioned the truth: the book. Annabeth got a quizzical look on her face; Sophia could tell she was dissecting her daughter's words. Finally, Annabeth knew what to say. She rested her hands on her daughter's shoulders.

"I completely understand what you're saying, Sophia. In fact, your father and I never liked dances or social events either. But, that's usually because we brought trouble with us and also, we didn't find each other yet." She paused, collecting other words from her mind. "However, you're different: you don't have the worry of unintentionally bringing trouble to people. That's why you should go: that's why you should have fun. Be a teenager for once, Soph." Annabeth smiled at her daughter and a couple of seconds later, a smile fluttered onto Sophia's lips as well.

"Thanks, mother. That gives me a new perspective on things." Annabeth smiled and nodded.

"Glad I could help." Annabeth leaned forward and placed a kiss on her daughter's forehead. "Now put on your dress. Unfortunately, they won't allow jeans and a shirt." Sophia quietly chuckled and nodded. As Sophia headed for her closet and Annabeth headed for the door, a feminine, sing-songy voice stopped them both:

"I hate to interrupt your little heart-to-heart, darlings, but I have a lot of work to do with Sophia."


	2. Chapter 2

Annabeth rested her hands on her hips and slowly shook her head once she saw who the unexpected visitor is: her own aunt, Aphrodite. Annabeth had never known, however, that when she would pop into the room, it was in a cloud of sparkles. Sophia's room had already smelled fine before, but now Annabeth could pick out a light smell of a fresh bouquet of roses.

Instead of the white regalia she usually wears on Olympus, she donned a pink dress that flowed with her ever graceful and elegant movements. The goddess of love floated over to Annabeth's daughter and gave her a smile. Although it was on the gaudier side, Annabeth could tell that she was here to help her daughter.

Sophia had wide eyes once Aphrodite popped in. However, Annabeth could tell that somehow, she was already used to it. As if she was already aware that gods and goddesses would be darting in and out of her life like that. As if she was already hardwired for it ever since the day she was born. Annabeth received this reaction as a gift from the gods themselves. Nevertheless, she could only pray that Chase would act the same way.

"I saw that you were struggling with a certain hairdo, Sophia," Aphrodite gestured to the magazine that held the ingredients for this hairdo. It still rested on the vanity, untouched. "And I knew I just had to come down here and help. If I didn't, I would go crazy." Her laugh was breezy as if going crazy was a pretty funny subject. Amongst this, though, the laugh hinted at reassurance, too. Sophia's eyes flickered to her mother out of uneasiness. Annabeth nodded once, silently telling her daughter that it was okay. Unlike Aphrodite's laugh, her mother's nod was a genuine sign of reassurance.

Sophia's eyes met Aphrodite's gaze. Compared to her stone colored eyes, the goddess's eyes glimmered like blue gems. Not only were they beautiful, but they shimmered with an exhilaration of that of a child.

"Yes, I was. I'm not good at this kind of thing," Sophia said and showed Aphrodite her hair. The goddess nodded and took the girl's hand, leading her to the vanity. She sat Sophia down before glancing at the magazine. Aphrodite wrinkled her nose at the paper before her attention went back to Sophia's hair.

"No matter you couldn't do this," Aphrodite explained. "Their directions are garbage. Worthless," Aphrodite picked up the magazine and tossed it over her shoulder. Sophia couldn't see whether it evaporated midair or somehow landed into the trash can. Sophia decided to stay silent and let the goddess work her magic. Aphrodite undid all of the work Sophia did and played with her hair for a bit, thinking about what she should do. When Sophia looked at the goddess's reflection in the mirror, she saw that she had an idea. Her skillful hands began to dance.

"The fun thing about doing hair is that you can totally wing it," Sophia watched Aphrodite's flying hands in the mirror. They truly were magic. "And usually, you learn new styles and techniques, and you have great looking hair." Aphrodite smiled as she finished. She was picky and fixed the flyaway hairs. When Sophia focused on her hair in the mirror, she was amazed. It was the hairdo she was trying to do, but this time, it was _better_. Not only did it look elegant, there was even a Greek flare to it with some braids.

Sophia studied it with amazement. She hesitantly touched the creation and she found out that it was in fact _real_. She stood up and faced the goddess before smiling.

"Thank you so much, Lady Aphrodite. I don't know what I would've done without you." The goddess smiled at her niece's daughter. She rested her hands on her shoulders before placing a kiss on her forehead. Normally, Sophia would've protested against this action, but she felt like it was okay.

"You're welcome, darling. Just promise me that you'll never scorn or have bad thoughts about any social events again?" Sophia laughed this time and nodded.

"I promise."

"Besides," Aphrodite continued. "You may never know who you'll meet there." Aphrodite stood up and winked at the girl. After her wink, a sly look came onto her face as if she were secretly planning something for Sophia. The thing is Sophia couldn't tell if it was for her clothing _or_ for her love life. Sophia jumped when lightning crackled outside of her window. But there was no rain. Aphrodite stubbornly pouted.

"That's my dad," She said with disappointment. If Sophia didn't know she was a goddess, she thought she would be a teenager. "He doesn't want me spending too much time on earth, because he's afraid I might fall in love with a man." She rolled her eyes and murmured something under her breath about a person named Adonis. Just when she was about to poof out, Sophia stopped her:

"Wait!" She frantically cried, a last minute thought appearing in her head. "What dress should I wear?" Another type of smile came to Aphrodite's lips; it showed pride in the girl. Aphrodite snapped.

"Check in your closet towards the back, darling. I think you'll like it." With another knowledgeable wink, the goddess poofed out just like the way she came in.

Roses and all.


End file.
